


3:43 AM

by papersandals (laronmi)



Category: Tiger & Bunny
Genre: Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-22
Updated: 2011-08-22
Packaged: 2017-10-22 22:31:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/243296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laronmi/pseuds/papersandals
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Barnaby calls Kotetsu at three in the morning to ask for an unexpected favor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	3:43 AM

**Author's Note:**

> for [this prompt](http://t-and-b-anon.livejournal.com/3336.html?thread=2591240#t2591240) on the t&b kink meme. this version has fixed some errors. if i can think of a reason for barnaby to be arrested, i will write more.
> 
> i don't know if i love or hate present tense.

He is jolted awake by the relentless ringing of his cellphone that, for some reason, he thought would be a good idea to place near his pillow on his bed the night before. Kotetsu groans as the shrill noise pierces through his veil of sleep and attacks his brain, and he gropes around his bed for the phone so he can turn it off. When he finally finds it, he peers at the display with his sleep burdened eyes and realizes two things.

First, it is 3:43 in the morning.

Second, it is Bunny who is calling him.

The first observation makes him want to ignore the call and silence the phone. The second makes him want to answer, because Kotetsu knows that Bunny wouldn't call him without reason, even if the reason is that Bunny just wants to hear Kotetsu's voice and be reassured of his existence.

He answers the call with a less than eloquent, "Hwah?"

"...Kotetsu?" Bunny's voice is hesitant, which Kotetsu doesn't find surprising, considering the time. What does surprise him is how much Bunny's tone suddenly reminds of him Kaede's, right after he catches her doing something she isn't supposed to be doing. It's all too easy to imagine Bunny with his hands clasped behind his back, swinging his body back and forth as he pouts and scuffs the ground with the toe of his shoe.

"Kotetsu?" Bunny says again, and Kotetsu banishes the phantom image of a child in Bunny's form with a vigorous shake of his head.

"Hey, Bunny," Kotetsu says, somehow managing to not yawn. "What's up? Is something wrong?"

There is silence on the other end of the line. However, in the background, Kotetsu can hear the conversations of other people. Wherever Bunny is, he is not alone in his barren apartment, surrounded by the proof of his loneliness.

"I," Bunny begins to say. There is a beat, and then Kotetsu can hear Bunny take a deep and shaky breath. "I need your help."

The traces of sleep pooling in his mind evaporate, and Kotetsu sits up in his bed, his covers slipping off his torso and gathering in his lap.

"What's wrong? If you need me to do anything for you, you know I'll do it."

"I know," Bunny says, and Kotetsu hears him draw in another breath. "...I need you to come to the police station and pay my bail."

For a moment, Kotetsu believes himself to be still asleep and dreaming. That, after all, is the only way that combination of words could be uttered in that particular order from Bunny's mouth and still make an iota of sense. But he knows he is not dreaming when Kotetsu hears Bunny's—annoyed. There is no trace of hesitancy or embarrassment left now—voice again, and he snaps out of his trance.

"You're in where? You need me to do what?" The floor is cold when his bare feet make contact with it, but Kotetsu doesn't care and barely notices at all, his mind too preoccupied as his mental gears crank away in some desperate attempt to make sense of things. "Why do you need me to pay bail? _What did you do?_ "

There is another moment of silence from the other end of the line as Kotetsu roams around his bedroom, searching for a pair of pants but failing to find any because he is too absorbed in the phone call to actually see anything.

"It's a long story," Bunny says at last, and Kotetsu nearly trips down the stairs.

"Bunny, it's three in the morning, and I'm wandering around my kitchen with no pants on because I can't find my keys. I think you have some time to—"

"I'm on a timed call. Just shut up and get over here."

Really, Kotetsu thinks as the call ends, Bunny isn't very cute at all.


End file.
